The Wood Stork Faces A Difficult Florida Keys Future

The image of the Wood Stork for many who live in the
Florida Keys, is a common sight.

The long legged, white bird standing in the shallow
waters and swamps across the state of Florida has been an image that has been
one that generations of Floridians would recognise.

But this could easily have been a very different story.

Throughout the
world, the stork can be seen, with 17 species documented to date, but it is in
the United States where the Wood Stork reigns supreme, and is the species that
is regularly seen in our waters and countryside.

But infact due to several factors the Wood stork could
have gone the way of many of the large American wading birds who found their
numbers decimated in the early 1900’s.

But what was the reasons for this?

What was different about the Florida Wood Stork, that
made them walk (or wade) a reasonably easy path through the pages of Florida’s
history books?

And lastly, what is making this rosy tale of endurance
move into a distinctly darker phase, which could unless something is done to
protect the Wood Stork, make them one more natural element that is no longer
with us today?

So on this page we will aim to provide the most detailed
information we can starting with ...

Description
Of the Wood Stork

The Wood Stork or to name it by its official latin name
(Mycteria americana) is a
distinctly large and impressive bird.

The bird can be
seen throughout the United States of America, but its due to its liking of hunting
in shallow slow moving waters, many of them find the swamps of southern America
and the Everglades of Florida the
perfect location to hunt and live.

It can be recognised by its large size, impressively curved bill and white feathers.

Whilst it is walking or standing it will look white only, but up in the air it’s easier to see that its plumage is trimmed with black.

It's legs are also quite distinctive, as the legs are a blackish grey colour, whilst its feet are quite pink. Giving it the appearance of wearing shoes….although this would of course be madness.

The head is a dark brown colour, with a black face leading to a large dirty yellow coloured bill.

And it is the head and the extremely long bill that makes it easier to recognise and will separate it from other large wading birds that you might see in the area.

Keep an eye out for a change in the colour of the feathers during the breeding season.

It is at this time that the adults feathers will develop patches of pale pink feathers under the wings, and the feet become even pinker.

The measurements of the bird can range between 83-115 cm tall whilst standing, with a wing span of 140-180cm from tip to tip.

The weight is even more impressive and gives an even greater understanding to the size of the Wood Stork.

The female of the species will weigh 2.0 – 2.8 kg, which is around 6 lbs, whilst the male is even larger and can get up to a maximum of 10 lbs.

The last way of recognising the Wood Stork is linked to their legs.

When they are flying they do not tuck their legs up under the bodies like a lot of birds do, but instead will leave then hanging out behind them.

Other Names That The Stork Might
Be Known As

The Wood Stork
is the generally accepted name for this Floridian wading bird, although due to
the appearance of its head and upper neck, you may also hear of it being called
“Ironhead” or “Flinthead”.

They are also
called a Wood Ibis or gannet, but this is purely down to its resemblance and
not anything to with genetics.

Nesting Habits Of The Wood Stork

The stork is
very much a sociable nester, and within the nesting areas of cypress trees
found in the wetlands of America, it is not uncommon to see up to twenty five
nests next to each other in one tree.

The female will generally
breed once a year, and upon the fertilisation from its mate lay up to five eggs
at a time.

Both the parents
will then take turns to incubate and protect the eggs for about a month before
the eggs will hatch and the first stork chicks exit the eggs and enter the
world.

This is where
their problems start and for many stork chicks they will only see a small time
on this earth, and a colony is considered to be extremely successful if each
nest manages to produce 1.5 birds from those 5 eggs.

In the early
days the Wood Stork chicks need constant feeding to grow in strength and size,
and week old chicks will be fed up to fifteen times per day.

This is of course
exhausting for the adults who need to find over 400 pounds of fish to keep both
themselves and their young nourished.

All the time
whilst looking after the eggs chicks and youngsters, the adult storks will be
required to fight off the attacks of many different predators that like nothing
more than a succulent baby bird for lunch.

The Racoon On The Hunt For A Stork Egg Or Two

How The Population Of The Stork Is
At Risk?

As we mentioned
at the very beginning of the page, the Wood Stork has walked a reasonably easy
path over the decades.

They managed to dodge
the hunters who sought out the large tail feathers of many of the large wading
birds of America, due to the fact that the feathers were seen very much as a
fashion statement for the ladies hats of the time.

However the birds feathers have always been a bit bland, so luckily for them the hunters by
and large ignored them.

In 1910, the
authorities realising that the quantity of birds in the areas were quickly
nearing levels that meant that they were at risk from disappearing all
together, started bringing about laws to ensure their protection.

In the 1930's it
was estimated that there were about 60,000 Wood storks nesting and feeding in
the United States, which dropped to 11,000 pairs in the 1960’s.

Only ten years
ago, this figure had dropped even lower to 4,000 to 5,600 nesting pairs in the
whole of America.

It is no
surprise then that with these dramatically depressing figures there for all to
see, the federal government placed the Wood Stork on the endangered species
list, and made its protection a priority.

What Has Been Causing The Decline In The Wood Stork Then?

Although man hasn’t been directly implicated with the decline in numbers of the Wood Ibis due to excessive hunting, as with all things to do with putting nature at risk, humans will be involved somewhere.

The real reason for the decline of the birds is the low reproduction rate that has affected the population.

On average the annual reproduction of a pair of adult birds capable of breeding, is about 0.77 young, which when balanced against all the factors facing the birds, is not enough to increase the population levels satisfactorily.

The Chick Waiting For Its Brother...or Sister!

The experts
believe that the reason for this extremely low reproduction level is in the
main to do with not enough food being available.

And this is
where we come into the scene.

The birds feast
on fish and small marine life, which flourish in the swamps and wetlands of the
southern United States, however much of this area is being drained to develop additional
farming.

This is of
course, due to the increase in the human population and the need for more food
to keep us alive, which is great for us, but bad news for the poor old bird.

So take away the
water, and subsequently the fish population is at risk, and the effect on the
eco system is altered drastically.

When a Wood
Stork is undernourished, then similar to all animals and even humans, the desire
to reproduce is lowered.

The last thing
you want to do when you are starving is to mate……..give me a burger anytime of
the week.

But that isn’t
all that us human do either.

Due to an
increase in logging, the natural environment that the birds nest in is also
being taken from them, so they don’t really stand a chance really.

Many of the
cypress trees that historically have been a favourite nesting place are
disappearing, leaving the Wood Storks looking for other places to nest.

And most of the
time, they will set up on man-made structures that can often be disrupted by
agricultural or industrial machinery.

All of these
factors when combined can have a devastating effect on any species clinging to
survival, but when it comes to the wood Stork, they have another factor that
has over the last few years come into play and once again are threatening the
survival of these huge birds.

Come On Darling.....Time For Bed Wink Wink!

The Natural Predator Of The Stork

Over the last
decade or so, a huge predator has made its way into the realm of the stork
which had never been a problem previously.

During the nesting
period the two adult birds will fight off attacks from predators such as
grackles, skunks, vultures and even racoons, who have been known to consume a
whole colony from a tree.

Then upon leaving
the nest they can then fall prey to the American Alligator who lurks within the
waters and backs of the swamps and marshes.

This is particularly
an issue within the acres of alligator infested land of Florida national park “The
Everglades”

The Burmese Python Grabs Its Lunch

But now an influx of Burmese pythons have made themselves at home in the perfect conditions that the stork feed in.

Within the years 2003 to 2008 over 25% of the pythons captured in the Everglades were found to contain bird remains in their stomach, and unfortunately for the stork they would not consider a 10 pound bird as being something that they couldn’t grab and eat.

As the pythons continue to flourish, so the levels of wood ibis in the Everglades are required to be monitored closely, as all the factors mentioned previously added to the threat of these huge snakes can bring an end to these wonderful birds.